Movie Review: ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ Dope But Comes Just Short of Original

 

Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick in “John Wick: Chapter 2” (Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise).

 

 

Dope, But Still a Close Second to Original 

 

In “The Godfather: Part III,” Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) said it best: “As soon as I get out, they pull me back in.”

Like the original, “John Wick: Chapter 2” sticks to the gangster script brilliantly.

The movie is extremely dope, but narrowly misses out on topping the original “John Wick.”

“John Wick: Chapter 2” picks up where the first installment left off with John (Keanu Reeves) still peeved at the fact that young thugs stole his beloved car and killed the dog his deceased wife left him.

The ex-hit man has vengeance on his mind.  But once vengeance is inflicted, John desperately wants to get back to his plan of a quiet retirement in his mansion in the New Jersey suburbs.

However, when Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) shows up on his doorstep with a marker, John refuses to honor the marker.

A marker is a demand or requirement of a hit man to carry out an assassination on an intended target.

Refusing to honor a marker usually results in immediate death for the disobedient hit man.

Knowing the consequences, John still refuses the marker.

If there is anything John loves as much as his prized car and dog is his home.

And if there is anything John has grown accustomed to is losing things that he loves.

Santino makes sure he loses his cherished home as well, burning it to the ground immediately after John’s refusal.

Upset at the behavior of Santino, John visits the boss Winston (Ian McShane) in the big city, New York.

Winston reminds John of the rules and John finally agrees to honor Santino’s marker.

Santino wants John to travel to Rome to kill his sister, Gianna D’Antonio (Claudia Gerini) so he can replace her at the big table where the big bosses reign.

John is apprehensive because if Santino gets a seat at the table, he will run New York.

If he does not kill Gianna, he will be killed instead.

Furthermore, what will be the consequences of killing someone who sits at the big table?

The results of action or no action may finally be the end of the seemingly invincible John Wick.

As expected, the action scenes in “John Wick: Chapter 2” are fantastic.

John is a cold-blooded, bloody and ruthless killer with a conscience who thinks about his future on Earth and possible damnation.

The film does a great job of highlighting the consequences of a life in organized crime.

Gangsters are faced often with three possible life sentences; a life of crime, a life behind bars or an early end to life.

Reeves did a great job in the original action film, but does an even better job acting in “John Wick: Chapter 2.”

Unfortunately, as good as “John Wick: Chapter 2” is, it does come up a little shy of the precedent set back in 2014.

Nevertheless, it is still a very good action flick.

 

Hopefully, the third installment of “John Wick” will be better than “The Godfather: Part III” because “John Wick: Chapter 3” is definitely coming.